


Journey to Asgard

by imnotcrazyiswear, KilljoysNeverDie



Series: Of Tricksters and Archangels [3]
Category: Supernatural, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Apples of Idunn, Asgard, Female Gabriel (not the whole time though), Kids, Magic, Miðgarðr | Midgard, Vanaheimr | Vanaheim, Wings, golden apples, Álfheimr | Alfheim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-10
Updated: 2014-03-10
Packaged: 2018-01-15 06:57:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1295683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imnotcrazyiswear/pseuds/imnotcrazyiswear, https://archiveofourown.org/users/KilljoysNeverDie/pseuds/KilljoysNeverDie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After they had been to Heaven and Paradise Loki wants to show Gabriel where he spent his whole life. They can't use the direct way so they take the hidden paths through Vanaheim and Alfheim to get to Asgard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Journey to Asgard

**Author's Note:**

> It would be helpful to read the first two parts but you can read this as an independent fic I think?

The cold wind was blowing strands of his black hair into Loki’s face. Unnerved the god pushed it behind his ears and let his gaze wander over the mountain tops around him.  
  
They - that were Gabriel and himself - were standing on top of a mountain range somewhere in south-America.  
  
It had been quite difficult to get there, mainly because Loki wasn’t able to teleport them to their destination and partly because he couldn’t tell Gabriel were exactly they had to go. But after a few hours, they finally found the right place and now they were standing there.  
  
Beneath them was steep cliff and Loki wasn’t sure how deep the abyss was, but he was sure that they were at the right place. A slight pull, that he always felt near the hidden paths of Yggdrasil, directed him right into the dark abyss.  
  
Since his early childhood Loki had explored the realms behind the paths and had gotten a feeling for where they would lead him to.  
  
“My friend” Loki shouted over the noise of the wind.  
  
“We will have to pass trough different realms before we reach Asgard. The first we will enter is Vanaheim, home to the wise Vanir.”  
  
Gabriel had followed the Norse god without commenting a single time. He didn’t mind traveling ‘the other way’ because he wouldn’t get tired or anything like the other feelings and problems that slowed down the humans so much.  
  
“And how do you think we get there?” He shouted back at the man standing next to him. Maybe he didn’t mind but that didn’t mean he had a clue what Loki wanted up there. Maybe he could find out - he found a way to figure things out most of the time - but he trusted the god enough to not even try by now.  
  
Loki looked up at the sky and frowned. Dark clouds were building up above them, a storm was coming.  
  
“This, dear Gabriel, will be a surprise.” Loki answered grinning and stared into the abyss again.  
  
Tilting his head, the god calculated the angle in which he had to jump, so he wouldn’t miss the dimension rift. But he doubted that Gabriel would simply jump after him and even if the archangel did, the god believed Gabriel would miss the rift.  
  
A low chuckle escaped him. When Loki turned to Gabriel again, madness filled his eyes.  
  
“After you, dear friend.” The god of mischief shouted and pushed the archangel down the cliff.  
  
  
Gabriel blinked a few times and could just stop himself from shouting when he was pushed over the edge into the abyss. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that Loki wouldn’t try to hurt him - probably - and that his wings would catch him just in case. He used them to slow himself down a little for a few moments - just until he was fully calm again and didn’t mind falling anymore. (Or at least he tried to convince himself that it was that way.) That all took him just three, maybe four seconds.  
  
A few seconds later, Loki sighed and jumped after the archangel.  
  
Wind was pulling at his clothes and the god tried to maneuver himself into the rift, what he eventually did.  
  
There was darkness and a force that seemed to pull at him from all sides, it felt like being ripped apart. But it didn’t even last a heartbeat, then there was a bang and the god was dropped onto a vast grassland.  
  
Loki stood up, brushed the dirt off his clothes and carefully took in his surroundings.  
  
The grassland, which was studded by rocks of different size, seemed to stretch to the horizon, where it was replaced by a dense forest.  
  
“Welcome to Vanaheim, Gabriel.”  
  
After he could breath properly again - air wasn’t necessary at all for him but he got used to all that - he stood up and didn’t feel any things out of place on his vessel. He looked at the things that were around them and eventually turned back to Loki. “That wasn’t fair. You could have warned me somehow.” He laughed a little.  
  
This place looked completely new to him but familiar at the same time. He couldn’t put his finger on why things were how he felt them and he didn’t like it but he could deal with it for the moment.  
  
“We do not play fair, Gabriel, you know that.” Loki reminded his friend and grinned.  
  
“Now that we are here, we should hide our presence.”  
  
The god said frowning after some time.  
  
“The Vanir and the Asgardians have been friends for a long time, if they discover that I am still alive, they will immediately tell the all-father. Some of the Vanir are even gifted with the ability to see the future. I managed to hide from them, but it will be harder to hide with you by my side. Can you disguise your presence, Gabriel? Or shall I do it for you?”  
  
Gabriel thought about that for a second. The god had told him that his people - well, the Asgardians - thought he was dead before but still.  
  
“What do you think?” He answered his question and smiled slightly. He hesitated for another moment but asked finally. “What did you actually do that they think you are dead?”  
  
After the god made sure that Gabriel had hidden his presence Loki frowned.  
  
“Let us talk while walking.” He then said grinning sadly.  
  
“It is easier to think while moving. And the story is long, like our way.”  
  
Finally the god of mischief started to walk towards the forest, always following the slight pull in his stomach.  
  
“I told you about the frostgiants and about Laufey, Thor and Odin.”  
  
Loki started and thought about where to start.  
  
“There was a day, when Odin decided to crown Thor, he was supposed to be the king of Asgard. - Can you imagine? A fool like him on the throne? Anyway, I wanted to destroy his day, so I made a pact with the Jotuns and smuggled them into Asgard, so they could seize the Casket of Ancient Winters - It is their source of power.”  
  
Loki shuddered at the thought of the Casket, he remembered how he had felt when he had touched it for the first time. Cold, yet so powerful. It was truly scary, in Loki’s opinion.  
  
Gabriel kept walking right next to his new companion and looked at everything he could see while he was listening. For an angel it was more than just _l_ _istening_ when there was something important to listen to. And right now he used the way he listened to prayers. He tried to feel a little of the things Loki felt and his skin prickled a bit. The only difference to real prayers was that this talking didn’t affect his grace in the same way.  
  
When Loki paused he looked over at him and nodded shortly.  
  
“I talked Thor into traveling to Jotunheim, so he could confront Laufey about the incident. Well, a battle ensued and then - then one of _them_ touched me… I knew something was not right when my skin turned blue instead of getting burned.”  
  
The last part Loki said with a bitter tone in his voice. With a shake of his head the god continued to speak.  
  
“We nearly died, but Odin intervened and brought us back to Asgard. He stripped Thor of his power and banished him to Midgard. While Thor was on Midgard, I found out that I am Laufey’s son.”  
  
His eyes fixed on the horizon, the god of mischief cleared his throat, searching for the right words.  
  
“When I confronted Odin, he fell into the Odin-sleep, leaving me as the heir to the throne of Asgard. I made another pact with the Jotuns - Laufey was allowed to take the Casket and kill Odin, but before he was able to do so, I killed Laufey myself.”  
  
Gabriel nodded again. “Why did you talk him into that? You could have died there…” It was no accusation in any way. He just didn’t understand all of it.  
  
So he killed his father and his so-called father wasn’t conscious anymore? He couldn’t understand what Loki must have felt and he couldn’t find any words that would have fit in there - even when he was made for talking. It bothered him a little but that wasn’t the main point right now. He wanted Loki to finish the story - _his_ story.  
  
“I wanted Thor to do something stupid, what he eventually did. But that does not matter. He managed to get back to Asgard. We fought, but before that, I pointed the Bifröst at Jotunheim and froze it. It would have destroyed their realm, if Thor had not smashed the Bifröst to pieces.”  
  
Loki explained silently.  
  
“I failed. I wanted a better world. Without the Jotuns. I was about to fall into the abyss, but Thor held onto me and Odin woke up, coming for our rescue, once again. He did not approve of what I did, I was not a worthy son. So i let go.”  
  
The archangel looked at the dark haired man for a long time and sighed silently. “That’s the thing with family … nothing but trouble.”  
  
He let his eyes wander to the sky and back to the ground again. It all made him think about the relationship Michael and Lucifer had. It got tiring after some time but he still would prefer the fights over both deaths.  
  
“And I thought we had tragedy going on at home…” his voice was just a mere whisper and he wasn’t even sure if the god could hear him at all.  
  
Loki sighed and nodded. For a few minutes he didn’t say anything, until they finally reached the forest.  
  
“I really wish you can find peace someday,” Loki silently answered.  
  
He knew about the fights in heaven and the deaths of Gabriel's brothers and Loki really meant what he had said. If he could change anything about what had happened, Loki would.  
  
The god of mischief sighed again. Why must everything be so complicated? So sad?  
  
The sun of Vanaheim was beginning to set, coloring the sky brightly orange.  
  
While they walked through the forest, the god of chaos suddenly noticed that the pulling in his stomach was getting stronger. The next hidden path of Yggdrasil was not far away.  
  
He smiled solemn. “I think we both deserve some peace and one day … one day we will find it-” he almost used the word ‘brother’. _Just out of habit_ he told himself. _Who else than your brothers did you ever talk about things like this?_ And Loki probably wouldn’t appreciate being called this by some person like Gabriel. He swallowed it down and smiled his too well-known trickster smile.  
  
When the god looked at Gabriel he returned the smile. To Loki it was clear that the archangel wanted to say something else - but what? The god didn’t know and decided to not force his new friend to tell him.  
  
He simply nodded and followed the steady pulling trough the dense forest.  
  
Sometime later, the two moons had already risen above them, the god was sure they had found the next rift. It seemed to be a path to Alfheim, judging from the feeling of light tingling his senses.  
  
Now he just had to find the path. Analyzing his surroundings, Loki looked for any unusual trees or rocks.  
  
Gabriel had no clue what they were looking for but Loki would tell him as soon as he found it. Probably. Maybe he would push him again but the shock wouldn’t be as great this time.  
  
He tried to remember how falling through it felt the first time but he couldn’t remember enough to do anything useful right now.  
  
All he wanted to do was to jump through the part between some of the rocks that seemed to lie around everywhere and suddenly he knew exactly what it had felt like. He cursed himself for a second.  
  
When he felt completely like himself again he sighed. “This, this could only happen to you, Gabriel. Just you get to be this talented in such things.”  
  
When Loki heard the all familiar bang he turned around. Gabriel was gone. Great.  
  
Loki sighed heavily and turned to the rock formation, the archangel had been nearest to. Well, it was worth a shot.  
  
Shrugging the god stepped through the formation, just to be swallowed by darkness and spat out in Alfheim.  
  
Even though it was night in Vanaheim, it was bright day in the realm of the light elves. Mainly because Alfheim was a realm of eternal light.  
  
“There you are.” Loki said, after he spotted Gabriel just a few meters away. These paths didn’t tend to be exact.  
  
Gabriel got rid of the dirt and blinked a few times before he stepped to Loki’s side again.  
  
“I won’t make another step in any other direction than you. Dammit. Why do I first feel it the second I step through it?” He still laughed a little though.  
  
“Okay, after you then.” He smiled crooked and tilted his head slightly to the right.  
  
Loki returned the laugh.  
  
“If these paths would be easy to notice, everyone would use them.” The god explained chuckling.  
  
Smiling he looked around him, trying to find out where exactly in Alfheim they were. To his frustration Loki didn’t recognize his surroundings. It was quite similar to the place in Vanaheim where they first appeared, but everything seemed brighter. The grass was a strong emerald-green, the flowers which studded the grassland were colored in every imaginable way. Sadly, Loki couldn’t enjoy the sight. Frowning the god of mischief tried to find something different than flowers and grass at the horizon, but the grassland seemed to be never ending. Sighing Loki concluded that they had to be in a very outlying place of Alfheim.  
  
“That way, my friend.” He sighed and followed the pull in his stomach.  
  
Gabriel nodded a little and turned once around himself before he started walking next to Loki again. “That makes sense,” he agreed.  
  
“This looks like kind of a long way to go. Or do the rifts appear just like invisible black holes from time to time?”  
  
It was truly beautiful but wonderful surroundings weren’t helping at all. He felt a bit useless but helpless as well. He would be pretty lost if the god decided to leave him alone out here.  
  
“No.” Loki said and frowned again. “That is our problem. Our best chance to leave Alfheim is to find a certain mountain range. There is a waterfall, a high waterfall, which has created a small lake around the mountains. There is a path which leads us to Asgard.”  
  
The archangel’s face got blank and he stared at the god’s face to see if he could find any sign of another hoax in his eyes but no, he seemed to be honest right now. Awesome.  
  
“Flying would be way faster…” he murmured.  
  
“Sadly, I can not do that.”  
  
Loki answered grinning.  
  
“And what about you, dear Gabriel?”  
  
The god let his gaze wander over the landscape. The archangel _had_ asked him earlier if Loki wanted to see his wings. And if someone had wings, they probably could fly.  
  
Gabriel chuckled. “Of course I can. That’s what humans love about angels, you know. And that we are oh so lovely and nice. Yeah well no.” He laughed and shook is head slightly.  
  
“Do you trust me enough to show me your wings and fly us to the mountains?”  
  
Loki asked grinning. It must be a sensible subject, the god mused, when Gabriel doesn’t show his wings all the time. If the mortals saw, they probably would kneel before the archangel.  
  
“Teleporting is actually some kind of flying.” He laughed a little but truly thought about it.  
  
“You need to understand that my brothers are the only beings that ever saw them and that just for grooming them. I never let anyone else see them and if I showed them to you now that would be proof of endless trust.”  
  
Carefully Loki nodded.  
  
“I understand.” He said smiling.  
  
“It is like I would show you my true form without trying to kill you.”  
  
The god really understood. They knew each other only for a few days and in that time Loki _did_ try to kill Gabriel _multiple_ times. _I would not trust me either._ Loki thought grinning madly. _It would not be wise to trust the god of mischief_.  
  
Gabriel took a few more seconds to think and sighed. “Okay you know what? I’ll show you. Just a few things you shouldn’t do… Don’t pull on any of the feathers. Actually, don’t touch them at all without asking first. Don’t look directly at the light when I manifest them since I don’t know if it’ll burn your eyes or not and never even try to touch them where feathers meet my vessel’s body.” When the god agreed to do these things - or not do them for that matter -  
  
he could make this step. He wouldn’t be 100 percent comfortable with it but he’d like that better than walking for days on this grassland.  
  
The god listened carefully to Gabriel’s conditions and nodded in agreement.  
  
But at the archangel’s last question, Loki hesitated. He wasn’t sure if it was safe to change into a frostgiant here on Alfheim, but the god wanted to show Gabriel that he could trust him.  
  
So Loki slowly changed into a frostgiant, holding back the bloodlust that went along with the change and focused his red eyes on his friend.  
  
“I trust you, my friend.”  
  
Gabriel smiled barely noticeable. It was a real honor in his eyes to have such huge trust from such a powerful being as Loki. He watched closely but kept himself from touching the blue skin. His eyes reminded Gabriel vaguely on Crowley’s but they were pretty different at the same time.  
  
He nodded a little and closed his eyes for a few seconds while he collected parts of his grace that could make his wings visible. He then pushed it out of his vessel until bright light surrounded him. When it fainted it remained just behind him and was replaced by a mass of golden and red shimmering feathers a second later. He stretched them towards the sky and when he held them loosely just above the ground they were about twice Loki’s size into the sky and two meters in each direction. Like this they looked a lot smaller than when he fully stretched them. “Made from the last light of day.” He whispered.  
  
Loki had to blink a few times, until he fully understood what just happened.  
  
With a look of awe on his face, the god had to remind himself to not touch the wings.  
  
“They are truly beautiful.” He managed to whisper.  
  
“Thank you. They are the only part of my true for I can show you directly.” He explained. Gabriel considered what could happen in the worst case for a second and held the left wing partly between them with the tip of one of the long feathers almost touching the god. “You can try it. They won’t brake when you touch them but be careful nonetheless, yeah?” He smiled a honest smile.  
  
“Are you sure?” Loki asked skeptical. He didn’t want to brake any of the beautiful feathers. It was a huge sign of Gabriel’s trust that he even showed the wings and Loki didn’t want to destroy that.  
  
But in the end the god of chaos slowly reached out to touch one of the red feathers. Carefully he stroked over the soft feather and smiled.  
  
“Thank you.”  
  
Gabriel had to hold his breath when the god’s fingers touches his wing and he couldn’t hold back a soft shudder. That was just because it’s been so long since someone else than himself touched them. Where they were stroked he could feel the soft singing-like sound. It wasn’t the kind of sound you can hear. It’s more like a feeling running through his body and leaving a warm tingle behind.  
  
He could just smile and watch the expression on Loki’s face.  
  
“We should go now.”  
  
Loki said after a short time. The way was still long and the sooner they got to Asgard, the better.  
  
A small chuckle escaped him, they would have so much fun there!  
  
Finally he could take his eyes of Gabriel’s wings. With a grin he focused on the archangels face again.  
  
“I hope you like the north, because that is where we are going. Would you mind to scout the way that lies in front of us? We should know how long it will take us to reach the mountains.”  
  
Gabriel looked in the direction they were walking the whole time and with a few beats of his wings he lifted himself up into the air. He let his body fell until he almost hit the ground and lifted Loki with him when he rose again. When they were high enough that the flowers were barely noticeable he turned himself around and used the energy he got out of that to throw the god in the direction they had to go. He followed instantly and caught him about three meters over the grass before he sat him back to the ground. He stood next to him, laughing. “It’s not that far anymore, I think.”  
  
Breathless the god forced his knees to not give in under him. Being thrown by an archangel wasn’t exactly his idea of fun.  
  
“I - I think I deserved that.” Loki exclaimed silently and tried to calm down. He still was in his frostgiant form, where he tended to feel emotions stronger. After Loki had taken a few deep breaths and his hands had stopped trembling, he let his gaze wander north. To his surprise Loki could already make out the mountains.  
  
Grinning, the god started to walk again.  
  
“Do not do this again, Gabriel.” Loki warned chuckling. “Or I will kill you.”  
  
Gabriel couldn’t hold back another laugh. “How did you say it? We don’t play fair.”  
  
Gabriel had to chuckle himself. “You think you _could_ kill me? I stopped two of my older brothers and I could have killed you when we fought.”  
  
While walking he tucked his wings back in. “But don’t worry. We are good again. Until next time at least. You know us.” A smile remained on his lips while they were continuing their way.  
  
The last part of their journey to the mountains was spend in silence.  
  
After Gabriel had tucked his wings in Loki had changed back into his usual self, which he liked way more.  
  
Loki didn’t know how long they had walked, but sometime later they arrived at the foot of the mountain, where a glittering waterfall created a crystal-clear lake.  
  
“Now I just have to remember where the path is…” Loki mumbled silently to himself.  
  
In all the years he had explored the nine realms, he was just a few times in Alfheim.  
  
Gabriel spent the rest of the walk thinking about how many of these hidden paths there were and to what places the could possibly lead.  
  
When Loki talked he smiled. “Okay then. I’m right behind you.” He wouldn’t fall through it by accident again.  
  
When Loki fixed his gaze on the waterfall, he let out a deep sigh.  
  
“I remember now.” The god said frowning and smiled apologetically at Gabriel.  
  
“You will not like this my friend.” Loki then said grinning.  
  
“We will have to dive through the waterfall. There is a small cave, sadly without air, where you can find the path.”  
  
Gabriel nodded slowly and shrugged then. “What a good thing that I don’t necessarily need air. Angels - as well as demons - start breathing because it’s strange when humans notice you don’t breath. You get used to the movement and keep it up.” He explained. He wasn’t too happy that he’d get wet, though, and was glad that even the last bit of the energy of the two wings he had shown to the god was gone. Water was okay when they were present and when they weren’t but when they were still between visible and fully tucked away it was just awful.  
  
Nodding Loki simply walked into the lake, took a deep breath and dived through the steady pouring waterfall. When he finally arrived in the cave, the god swam all the way to the back of it, trying to find the rift.  
  
Cursing himself innerly for forgetting why he never visited Alfheim, Loki got sucked into the darkness.  
  
A moment later he appeared between two rocks, which stood on a small island near Odin’s palace.  
  
Hoping Gabriel would follow soon after, Loki quickly changed his appearance into the complete opposite. Nobody on Asgard must know he was there.  
  
Gabriel followed Loki into the water and tried to stay close enough so he could see him the whole time. It didn’t work the whole time but when he caught himself again he could see his new friend again.  
  
“Okay, so what do you suggest shall I walk around here? You want to go with invisibility again?” He wanted to know.  
  
“Oh, no no.” Loki said grinning and started walking to the shore, where he had left a boat years ago.  
  
“I would prefer if we could talk openly while you are here.”  
  
While they walked, Loki changed Gabriel’s vessel into a typical Asgardian woman. The long blond hair braided and bright brown eyes. Also, Loki couldn’t resist the urge to dress Gabriel in a beautiful blue dress, like he had seen Frigga wearing one.  
  
He looked down on himself and shifted a little on the inside of his vessel so it would fit a little better. The dress was way more comfortable than what he wore the last decades as male so he was really kind of thankful but a little annoyed at the same time. He didn’t even know.  
  
“I knew this would come back to me. I should never have told you.” He laughed but kept his pace so he would stay right beside Loki.

Loki grinned.  
  
“But you were an ‘awesome’ woman, were you not? I believe you will be now, too.” The god answered and chuckled.  
  
From a slightly hidden bay, Loki pulled out a small boat. It was old and wooden and painted bright green, the name of the ship - Chaos - was written in golden letters over the side of it.  
  
Instantly Loki began to grin. He had used this boat to row to the small islands that surrounded the palace, until he had made his last trip to Alfheim, where Heimdall discovered his doings and brought him back to Asgard. After that Loki first learned to hide his presence from the other god, before he continued to search for the hidden paths.  
  
“Why did I never got you back?” Thought Loki loud while he pushed the boat into the sea.  
  
Gabriel chuckled and frowned about his new voice. He wasn’t used to such a high chuckle anymore but it wasn’t bad. “I _am_ an awesome woman.” He repeated.  
  
He watched while Loki brought a small boat into his view. “So you want to call me Gabrielle for the next hours or days or whatever time we are staying or are you going to rename me, too?” He laughed silently, his eyes gleaming a little.  
  
While Loki motioned for Gabriel to enter the boat, he thought about the question.  
  
“As long as we are alone, I will continue to call you Gabriel - or Gabrielle, if you prefer.”  
  
The last part the god had said with a wide grin.  
  
“But when we are in town, you will need a less conspicuous name. I can not go by my real name either.”  
  
The god sat down in the boat and pulled out two broad sticks from under the bench. Loki had always used them as rudders since his old ones mysteriously went up in flames.  
  
“How about Vada?”  
  
Gabriel sat down, crossed his legs, straightened his back and continued to watch the god. “Don’t you dare calling me Gabrielle.” He had to laugh a little and tilted his head to the left when Loki suggested the new name.  
  
“Why not, I can’t come up with any other one after all.” The archangel shrugged.  
  
Loki nodded smiling.  
  
“So be it.” He said and tilted his head slightly to the right.  
  
“Then I shall go by the name Ragnar.”  
  
Smiling he started to row in the direction of the town, maneuvering them to another hidden shore.  
  
“What would you like to do, my friend?”  
  
He nodded shortly.  
  
“I have no idea? I mean, you could show me the places you enjoy? Or enjoyed? I’m sure there are some really nice places to go to and things to see.” He moved his head a little questioning and he fumbled a little with the blue dress just to feel the fabric between his newly soft fingers.  
  
Thinking Loki fixed his eyes on the horizon, where slowly the city of Asgard appeared.  
  
“Beyond the town is a forest.” The god explained softly.  
  
“In this forest lives Idunn, guardian of the golden apples. We should visit her.”  
  
Gabriel blinked a few times while thinking. “You mentioned that name when we were in Heaven, I think.” He was actually pretty sure that he did. And he didn’t look exactly happy. “But I’ll happily follow you and see what you want me to see.” He smiled. Somehow every honest smile got a little more amiable when he walked around as woman.  
  
“Well, Idunn is not particularly fond of me.”  
  
Loki said grinning.  
  
His steady rowing grew faster, when the town came into view. The sunlight, which was reflected by the golden palace, illuminated the city. Even though Loki didn’t really like the Asgardians anymore, he couldn’t deny that the city was really beautiful with its buildings made from white marble and the small, sandy streets which weaved trough it.  
  
Gabriel nodded slowly and really tried to focus on Loki but he had to stop a second to just look at the view in front of him. He turned his head in the god’s direction but kept hiss eyes on the city.  
  
“How’s that? The people don’t seem too happy about what you did judging from what you told me but yeah. What’s it with her?”  
  
“Long story short: It was my fault she got taken by a Jotun, I rescued her, then I insulted her for laying her arms around the murderer of her husband. Since then Idunn despised me.”  
  
The last few minutes Loki let the boat glide through the calm water, until it came aground. Then the god jumped into the ankle-deep water and pulled the boat onto the shore. Chuckling the god of mischief turned around to Gabriel again.  
  
“But when I think about it again, none of the Asgardians was _ever_ particularly fond of me.”  
  
“And still we are here.” He smiled a little and stood up. The angel held out the slim hand in Loki’s direction. “Or do you expect a lady to jump out of a boat without any help?” It took him a lot but his face stayed completely serious.  
  
Loki fought the urge to grin like a maniac and bowed slightly.  
  
“Forgive me, milady.” He said with a serious tone in his voice and helped ‘Gabrielle’ out of the boat.  
  
“If you may follow me.”  
  
Chuckling the god turned around again and began to lead the way to the city.  
  
Gabriel got onto the ground and tilted his head just half an inch and smiled crooked. He nodded slightly and walked next to his companion, trying not to stare at all the things around him but notice every detail at the same time.  
  
It didn’t take long for them to reach the first buildings and then the center of the town, where people lived their lives to the fullest. Children were running around, playing and screaming, while women were snickering at each other when an attractive man passed them.  
  
“Welcome, dear _Vada._ ” Loki said and grinned widely.  
  
Gabriel shook is head without shaking his vessel’s head and giggled silently, lifting a hand to his face when Loki talked again, and looking down. He lived as every kind of woman possible with lots of different characters and he just decided which one to be now. He always loved to walk around as girlish and evidently defenseless woman while he fought like one of the best warriors he ever encountered.  
  
The god rolled his eyes at Gabriel’s behavior, but decided to go with it. Smiling he offered his arm, noticing the jealous looks of some noblewomen near to them. He could understand why. After all he now had short blond hair, his eyes were colored in an even brighter blue than Thor’s, he was taller and more muscular than before. Seriously, Loki would be offended if the women _didn’t_ stare.  
  
“Shall we?” Loki asked with his most innocent voice and smiled sweetly.  
  
Gabriel smiled when he was offered the arm and smiling accepted the offer. Maybe he even looked back at some of the women.  
  
“Oh I’ll follow you.” It was a little strange to him, walking around like this. On the other hands side it was a completely normal thing. Technically he wasn’t a male and he wasn’t a female being either. He just wasn’t used to touch another creature in a way that was more fondly - in a way - than what happened while fighting.  
  
For a while they just wandered around the town and Loki retold childhood stories to Gabriel, until they came to a big marketplace. Loki frowned, usually the place was a steady come and go, but now it was crowded with cheering people and children, that tried to find their way to the front of the crowd. A moment later Loki found out why there was such an excitement ringing through the people.  
  
“Traveling fire-magicians!” The god exclaimed surprised and watched as one of the weirdly dressed men in the center of the crowd grabbed a torch and blew trough the flame, creating a fireball with a vaguely human shape. Then another man started to play the flute, which made the flame dance. The crowd applauded wildly and the children laughed.  
  
Gabriel smiled and listened to every word the god told him. He thought it was another pretty great sign of trust that he told him about the memories he had.  
  
When they got to the fire-magicians he smiled brightly again and looked back at Loki. “Are there often people like them here?” He wanted to know.  
  
“Sometimes.” Loki answered smiling and tilted his head to the right.  
  
The magicians showed a few tricks with the human-like fireball and every time the crowd got madly excited. The god couldn’t help himself from laughing with the children in the front. It was a really long time since he had seen a show like that.  
  
Suddenly the men motioned for the people to calm down. When the marketplace was completely silent, one of them began to speak with a heavy accent.  
  
“Lovely Asgardians.” He began and Loki grimaced.  
  
“For the following piece of magic, we need _two_ volunteers from the crowd.”  
  
Immediately people threw their hands in the air, the man began to let his gaze wander around the crowd, as if he was searching for something. When his gaze stopped at Loki and Gabriel, he seemed to have found it.  
  
“What about you, milord? And your beautiful companion?” He said smiling openly. “People, look at this lovely couple! Can you not see the true love for each other in their eyes?”  
  
The crowd started to cheer again, Loki’s eyes darkened a bit and the magician motioned him to come froward with Gabriel.  
  
Gabriel shifted his weight from his toes to his heels and back again. Not because he was bored by the show - he actually enjoyed it a lot - but because he got a little nervous when he stood in one place too long without moving in any way, that’s all.  
  
When the magician started looking for two people and picked the two of them Gabriel got insecure for a second but didn’t let it show in his eyes, he just went with the program, a small smile on his lips the whole time.  
  
Knowing that the magician won’t let them leave before he disgraced both of them, Loki sighed and forced a happy smile on his face.  
  
“I am truly sorry.” The god whispered softly into Gabriel’s ear, while he made his way to the front of the crowd, gently dragging the archangel along.  
  
He kept smiling and held onto Loki while walking past the other people. “I survived worse I think.” _I wanted to know what his life was like and this is where he’s from so why not._ He had no idea what could happen there but he knew that this wasn’t his real vessel and not even his world.  
  
When they arrived at the center, the man that had talked smiled brightly at them and bowed deeply.  
  
“Milord, I would be honored to know your name.” The magician said - the crowd cheered again. Loki was a bit confused by that, after all the man hadn’t said anything special.  
  
“My name is Ragnar.” He simply answered and tried to stay friendly.  
  
“And the name of your lady?” The man asked again and winked at Gabriel.  
  
“I believe my lady can talk for herself.”  
  
When they stopped walking Gabriel held his eyes fixed on Loki but could still see what was going on around him. He actually felt and heard it more than he saw it but that was okay.  
  
When he was asked about his name he rolled his eyes on the inside to Loki’s reaction but smiled brightly nonetheless. “They call me Vada.”  
  
“A beautiful name for a beautiful lady.” The magician said smiling and the men in the crowd nodded in agreement.  
  
Without further explanation, the trick started. Three of the magicians positioned themselves around Loki and the archangel in a triangle shape. Another man began to play the flute again. The magicians still held their torches and like they did before, they blew into the flames. This time though, a stream of flames seemed to crawl out of the torches. The differently colored flames - green, orange and blue - seemed to vow themselves around Gabriel and Loki.  
  
When he saw the fire floating through the air he started feeling out for when something could come to close. That was something he couldn’t stop himself from since he left Heaven for the first time but he was careful so nobody would feel or see it.  
  
His eyes were on Loki one second and the next moment the colors all around them and back on the god.  
  
The man who had talked to them, pulled out another flute and started to play.  
  
The soft music created a scene from the flames and suddenly Loki knew that it was a ceremony and not a magic-trick.  
  
The flames showed two people holding hands and the god swore he could hear soft laughing coming from the flames. Then the music grew faster and the scene changed. Now it showed the same people holding a baby, which seemed to cry. In the next scene the child had grown up. It hugged his parents as if it wanted to say goodbye. After a while the flames changed again, showing how the couple grew old, still holding hands.  
  
The music stopped and the flames began to fade.  
  
Loki shot Gabriel an apologetic look and the crowd began to erupt in applause and cheering. The magicians bowed to the people and thanked Gabriel and Loki for participating in their trick.  
  
Loki nodded, smiling friendly and gently dragged Gabriel with him. When they finally were in an empty street again, the god took a deep breath.

Gabriel watched without showing anything that could be called true emotions on his face and just remained standing back straightened and frowning on the inside. He let the god drag him away and when they were alone again he shook his head a little. “What in Heaven, Hell and earth was that?” He wanted to know and took a unnecessary long moment closing his eyes and let everything replay in his mind again.  
  
“It was something similar to a bonding ceremony.” Loki said and took another deep breath.  
  
“With the slight difference, that it did not bond _us_ , but the best wishes for _our_ future to well… _us_.”  
  
The god let out a half hearted chuckle and shook his head.  
  
“It was not a smart idea to change you into a woman.”  
  
Gabriel blinked a few times, frowning. “This is a thing that can just happen to me. Such things always happen when I’m around and it has never always been me fault.” He kept his voice low and shook his head a little.  
  
“And that means what exactly for the future?” He asked a little louder, looking at Loki again now.  
  
“Sadly” Loki began and started to walk again.  
  
“I do not know. Maybe you will get pregnant?”  
  
The god sighed deeply and tried to grin, but failed miserably.  
  
“And then what? That would be one of the most hilarious and tragic things that ever happened to me and I won’t be the one taking care of an god-archangel-kid.” Gabriel shook his head and laughed a little at the imagination of it. “You’re an idiot you know that?” He shook his head, still chuckling a little. _And I’m an idiot as well but help me I won’t speak that out loud now_. He ran up to Loki to walk right next to him again. “So … you maybe got me pregnant, you gonna marry me?” He laughed and watched the god’s face to not miss any emotion that slipped through.

Suddenly Loki stopped and shot Gabriel a weird look, before he started to laugh.  
  
“Oh, do you actually want me to wed you?” The god asked grinning. The whole situation was so absurd, that Loki couldn’t stop himself from chuckling.  
  
Gabriel shrugged. “We’d be probably the most dangerous couple since we both tend to break our toys…” It wasn’t easy to keep his voice steady but he managed talking with at least a bit of his dignity left.  
  
“The destruction would be beautiful!” Loki agreed grinning darkly and started to walk again. Soon they had arrived at the stables of the town-guard, where Loki turned around and motioned for Gabriel to be silent. Then he disappeared in the stables for a few minutes, just to return with two black horses.  
  
“I hope you know how two ride a horse, my dear friend.” Loki said and gave the archangel one of the reins.  
  
“See?” He laughed and continued to follow his companion.  
  
When he was told to wait he spent the time taking in the sight of his surroundings and watched the sky a little time.  
  
When the god returned Gabriel’s face lit up. “I was around when the great battles on earth were fought - the ones when they still used iron for their armor. I won more battles on horses than flying.”  
  
“Really? I would enjoy a story or two.” The god answered, while he got comfortable in the saddle. He waited for Gabriel to mount his horse too, before he slowly lead his own horse into the direction of the forest.  
  
“We still have a long way to go.”  
  
“Another time, dear friend. We’ve got an eternity to live and raise kids, did you forget that already.” He laughed and cursed silently. “I remember why I used to wear pants while riding.”  
  
Rolling his eyes Loki turned around to Gabriel.  
  
“It does not suit a lady to complain.” He simply said and grinned mockingly. Then he quickened the pace of his horse and laughed.  
  
“Try to keep up!” He shouted over the noise of the hoof beats.  
  
Gabriel shook his head slightly and made his horse close the distance to Loki and stayed half a meter behind him. “Thee lady’s going to beat you up when she has to get off this horse without your help.” He laughed.  
  
Loki laughed again and took a sharp turn to the left.  
  
“Well, first we will have leave the town. Then you can ‘beat me up’, milady Gabrielle.”  
  
For short time Loki navigated then through the small streets of the town, until the buildings got fewer and further apart. Finally they reached the city border and to Loki’s surprise he was relieved to have so.  
  
Gabriel chuckled silently. He still didn’t exactly liked it when Loki called him ‘Gabrielle’, but that was only because he got so used to his male form. He even remembered a time when it was difficult for him to understand why the humans made a difference between male and female.  
  
For a short time the god and the archangel rode in silence. Loki observed his surroundings closely, buildings were slowly replaced with fields and the road seemed to get smaller, until it wasn’t present anymore. Since he took this way the last time, a lot had changed. The god of mischief got a bit melancholic when thought about how things had used to be, but with a shake of his head he quickly regained control of his feelings.  
  
The town grew smaller behind them and the forest at the horizon grew came nearer. It was just a matter of time until they would reach it.  
  
Gabriel turned around a few times and had to readjust himself in his saddle once but the rest of the time he watched Loki and thought about how this reminded himself on former adventures with his brother and even some with humans.  
  
Finally they reached the forest and Loki slowed down a bit.  
  
“Idunn’s tree is not far away anymore.” The god announced smiling.  
  
“Also, in this forest lies a path to the realm of the dwarves.”  
  
Gabriel led his horse to walk next to Loki’s and looked at the forest in front of them.  
  
“Do you know all of these paths?” He asked just out of curiosity.  
  
Loki nodded.  
  
“I know _all_ of them. And I am the only one who knows where they lie.”  
  
He paused shortly and focused on Gabriel.  
  
“So, do not even think about telling anyone about the rifts.” Loki said serious.  
  
“Chaos would ensue.”  
  
Gabriel shook his head. “Most of the things I know shouldn’t be told to anyone. If I told them to someone more than just our worlds would be destroyed.” He smiled and knew about the little glimpse of madness in his eyes. There was a time where he thought about destroying everything that way but that wouldn’t have been fair to the other creatures.

"Now I am curious." Loki said sighing.  
  
“I wish you could tell me these things. It would be intere-” Suddenly Loki stopped speaking and frowned. Did he just hear someone singing? The god tried to listen closer, and there really was a woman singing softly.  
  
“Idunn.” Loki explained grinning. “We are closer than I thought.”  
  
With one fluent motion the god of mischief jumped down to the ground and tied his horse to a nearby tree.  
  
 _Sure you wish I could. But sadly I can never do that. I’ll die with them as secrets_.  
  
He nodded shortly and watched Loki getting to the ground. He himself didn’t even think about jumping off of the back of his horse. He could - and would - wait for the help he asked for earlier.  
  
Loki wanted to get going, but then realized Gabriel still sat on his horse.  
  
“What are you waiting fo- Oh, right.”  
  
Grumbling something about ‘Stubborn’ and ‘Drama’, Loki grabbed Gabriel by his hip and lifted the archangel of his horse. Without another word, the god started to lead the way.  
  
“Idunn likes children.” The god said after a while.  
  
“If she believes us to be children, our chances to get some of the golden apples rise.”  
  
Gabriel smiled lovingly and chuckled a little when he refused to get down on his own and when they walked again he nodded. “Kids are … how do I put this in the right words… I don’t even know. But okay, so you want to de-age me into a young girl?”  
  
“Basically.” The god said grinning.  
  
As they followed Idunn’s singing, Loki let Gabriel grew younger and his dress smaller. He did the same to himself, until they both looked like seven or eight year old children.  
  
Grinning Loki began to run onto the huge clearing, where the singing came from. Every time Loki had seen the huge old apple tree which stood there, the god had fallen into a state of awe. This time it wasn’t different. The god couldn’t stop himself from admiring the dark brown trunk and the bright green emerald leaves. But the highlight had to be the golden apples, which reflected the sunshine and illuminated the clearing in a soft golden light.  
  
Gabriel watched as his own vessel and Loki turned younger with every step and when the god seemed to be satisfied with their ages, Gabriel started to adapt the way he moved to his age.  
  
When the tree came in sight he almost fell over his own feet. The same feeling as millions of years back when he first saw Lucifer’s wings ran through him when he looked at the tree.  
  
Suddenly the singing stopped. Idunn, the goddess of eternal youth, looked surprised a the two children which had entered the clearing.  
  
Loki looked back and smiled brightly, he couldn’t deny that the woman was really beautiful. Her strawberry blond hair was braided into two long sections, that nearly reached her hips and her bright eyes vaguely looked like two of the golden apples.  
  
“Greetings, young ones.” She said with a warm smile.  
  
Gabriel was still fascinated by the tree when he heard the woman talking. He turned her eyes to her and began smiling, his lips slightly parted and shortly looking over at Loki as if he wanted to have some reassurance that they wouldn’t get into trouble before his smile got brighter and even reached his eyes.  
  
Loki bowed deeply, before he focused on Idunn again.  
  
“Greetings, milady.” He said with his new, high-pitched voice.  
  
Carefully the god took a few steps forward and looked up to the tree.  
  
“Do you like it, young one?” Idunn asked softly and Loki nodded wildly.  
  
“And what do you think, young lady?” The goddess asked smiling and tilted her head slightly.  
  
Gabriel quickly but carefully closed up the new space to Loki and turned to the goddess. “Wonderful.” He agreed with a silent but almost confident voice.  
  
Idunn laughed openly and looked at the tree herself.  
  
“Why are you here alone? Where are your parents, young ones?” She asked suddenly serious.  
  
“We came here alone, milady.” Loki answered and looked down to his feet.  
  
“Today is Vada’s birthday.. and I - I mean we - wanted to ask you for an apple. - Thats all what Vada wished for.”  
  
“Oh, that is indeed a reason to celebrate.” Idunn answered and focused on the little girl. “How old are you, little lady?”  
  
He looked to the ground for a second or two when Idunn mentioned that they shouldn’t be alone out here but he got his eyes back up again when he was talked to directly.  
  
 _Of course it’s my birthday. Yeah, now I remember it again._  
  
“116 today.” His smile got a little more proud.  
  
“Congratulations, little lady!” Idunn said smiling.  
  
“I will grant you your wish, small ones.”  
  
The goddess smiled again and walked over to the tree trunk, where a big basket full of golden apples stood. She took two out of it and gave them to the children.  
  
“Enjoy them.” She whispered and then went on to do what she had done before Loki and Gabriel entered the clearing. Loki bowed again.  
  
“Thank you milady!” He shouted happily. “May your days and nights be filled with light!”  
  
He winked at Gabriel and started to walk the way back to their horses.  
  
Gabriel curtsied and whispered a ‘thank you’ before he ran up behind Loki and walked beside him on the way back to the horses.  
  
“My birthday, huh?” His voice was still too high to be any good in his opinion and he talked silently so it wouldn’t bother him too much.  
  
Slowly Loki changed them back into adults, before he answered.  
  
“Well, yes.” He said and chuckled darkly.  
  
While he walked he looked down at the apple in his hand and smiled.  
  
When he was himself - or well, his female form - again he shrugged lightly. Why not.  
  
“These seem truly wonderful. What exactly are they?” He wanted to know when he could look at the golden fruit in his hand.  
  
“The golden apples of Idunn.” Loki started to explain when they arrived where they had left their horses.  
  
“Whoever eats them, will stay young forever. This is what lets the Asgardians live so long.”  
  
Carefully the god of mischief took a bite out of the apple and sighed happily. Nothing could compete with the taste of these fruits.  
  
“You can eat them.” He said smiling. “They taste sweet and sour and like sunshine.”  
  
 _It probably won’t do any bad. Even though eternal youth is one of the things I got promised in the terms and conditions._ He smiled at the god and looked at the apple for another long moment before he tried it. It was different from the things he knew and now he even understood why Loki wanted to show him this. “Thank you. For showing me so much of the things belonging to your life.”  
  
Shrugging Loki took another bite.  
  
“You did the same.” He said and thought back to their journey to heaven and paradise.  
  
“My friend.”  
  
He grinned and looked up at the green leaves that blocked the sky from his view.  
  
Gabriel shrugged barely noticeable. “ _I_ was the one copying _you_ so maybe I just felt a little guilty. You don’t know that.” He sighed silently. That wasn’t the reason at all but it could have been.  
  
Loki didn’t know why, but the answer made him a bit angry.  
  
“You showed me your realm out of _pity_?” The got asked dangerously soft. Oh, no! Gabriel was his friend and ally, but no one pitied him - a _go_ _d_!  
  
“Pity! Yeah, that’s what the last archangel will show for no one. What I tried to tell you was that I am a slave of my conscience now and then. Why would I pity you?” He was a little confused how Loki got this out of what he said but he had to calm down and prevent a fight. He needed Loki to get back to his world and he was the only one in about four thousand years that managed to deal with Gabriel’s presence for longer than six hours without trying to kill him.  
  
For a moment Loki observed Gabriel, then he nodded. He took another bite from his apple and closed his eyes.  
  
“Shall we go back to Midgard?” The god asked after a while and opened his eyes again. He really didn’t want to fight with Gabriel - the first person he had called a friend after decades.  
  
Gabriel took a deep breath and another bite from the fruit.  
  
“I don’t know. I really like it here but I don’t mind going back either. The decision is yours.” He smiled a little.  
  
“Than we shall go back. The longer we remain here, the easier it will be to find us.”  
  
And with that Loki mounted his horse again and grinned.  
  
“There is a path to Midgard just a few leagues from here, my dear friend.” The god announced and turned his horse into the right direction.  
  
“And I _really_ want to hear about a Midgardian war.”  
  
“Sounds good to me.”  
  
Gabriel had less problems getting onto his horse this time and sighed. “The humans fight all the time. Mostly about which god to believe in. It’s hilarious. Over the last 100 years there were less than 26 days of peace.”  
  
“So, somewhere on Midgard is always war?” Loki asked and frowned. He hadn’t thought that these puny mortals were so violent.  
  
With a dark chuckle Loki quickened the pace of his horse a bit.  
  
He had no problem staying close to the god this time and nodded his head yes. “They always find a reason. I gave up on them and so did my father. They’ll destroy themselves and their planet in the end.” He was a little sorry. Not for humanity but for earth. It used to be a really wonderful place.  
  
“We should destroy them.” Loki said suddenly and focused on the way.  
  
“Before they destroy Midgard.”  
  
It was his honest opinion to that subject. Loki wanted to erase the stupid mortals from the face of earth. They have their weapons, weapons that could become dangerous for the other realms. And Loki knew that the humans were dumb enough to try and use them on the other worlds. So why not prevent a huge catastrophe by killing them?  
  
Gabriel shook his head. “Who would we play with then? And it would probably cause even more problems in heaven. Maybe I’d have my army as a real possibility of destroying humanity, but that would make me the next Lucifer. It’s why I killed him. He saw things just the way you are talking now and it was me or him. I don’t like most of the humans but I’d rather play and clean up their chaos afterwards than betray all my brothers and everything I ever stood for.”  
  
Loki thought about that for a while.  
  
“Fine.” He grumbled finally. Still the god thought it would be better to extinct the human race, but he knew now that Gabriel had his reasons to not to do that.  
  
Again Loki quickened his pace, as they left the forest.  
  
Gabriel felt that Loki didn’t like his answer and he thought about a way to indemnify the Norse a little.  
  
“I really shouldn’t do this.” He mumbled to himself and caught up with Loki. “Is there a way you could promise me to not use any magic but just a sword and a few weapons you can choose yourself if I’d ask you to?”  
  
Loki cocked an eyebrow and tried to find out what his friend was planning.  
  
“It depends.” The god answered frowning.  
  
“What do you want me to do?”  
  
“I don’t _want_ you to do anything. I give you an opportunity.” He explained and his angelic side tried another time to stop him but the trickster in him won.  
  
“You remember that I told you archangels are independent from time? I can take you to one of the old battles. One of those which the humans are still teaching about in schools. You can kill some mortals there but I can’t let you use magic since that would change history far too much.”  
  
“You are offering me to kill mortals?” Loki asked again, not sure if he had heard right. Blinking a few times the god focused on Gabriel.  
  
“Are you serious? Because if yes: I am partly disgusted and partly excited.”  
  
A dark grin sneaked onto the gods face and he laughed. The path to Midgard wasn’t far away anymore, only a few more miles.  
  
Gabriel chuckled. “They’d die one way or another. And you should let kids play with the toys they can see through the huge window that presents all the things in the store or they become obtrusive and destroy other kids toys. Trust me, I’ve seen this happen a lot.” He laughed silently.  
  
He would have to occupy Loki with little things like this a lot or he’d cause another apocalypse in the end. That stupid brother and so-called father of his should be thankful that Gabriel kept the god from doing something that was incredibly dangerous to humanity.  
  
On the other hands side it was something that he could really enjoy himself so maybe being the guardian angel of the god o; mischief in some way wouldn’t be all too bad.

 


End file.
